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THE SMITHS - MANCHESTER 1986 [ANDY ROURKE R.I.P. 1964 - 2023]

April 3, 2023 – 7:09 am

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ANDY ROURKE R.I.P. 1964 - 2023

Andy Rourke, the bassist for indie legends the Smiths, has died on May 19. He was 59. The news was announced by guitarist Johnny Marr on social media, who wrote: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer. Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans. We request privacy at this sad time.”

Rourke played on the Smiths’ classic back catalogue including hits such as This Charming Man and There Is a Light That Never Goes Out - both classic examples of his often boldly melodic style - as well as on solo songs for frontman Morrissey after the group disbanded.

Morrissey also paid tribute, writing: “He will never die as long as his music is heard. He didn’t ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else. His distinction was so terrific and unconventional and he proved it could be done. He was also very, very funny and very happy and, post-Smiths, he kept a steady identity - never any manufactured moves. I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that.”

Rourke also played in the supergroup Freebass with two other celebrated Mancunian bass guitarists, New Order’s Peter Hook and the Stone Roses’ Mani, and recorded with Sinéad O’Connor, the Pretenders, Ian Brown and was in the group DARK with the Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan. - theguardian.com

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THE SMITHS
Manchester 1986 [no label, 1CD]
The Festival Of The Tenth Summer. Live at the G-Mex Centre, Manchester, UK; July 19, 1986. Very good FM broadcast.

Thanks to mario70 for sharing the show at Dime.

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This is a complete broadcast of the majority of the show. Where you hear a cut in the crowd noise, that is my removing station IDs, or lead-ins to commercials as carefully as I could. Also note that The Queen Is Dead is criminally cut short by the radio station. For that track,I chose to fade it out over the station call-sign, as the call-sign was accompanied by music, and destroyed the track anyway.

All told though, this is a great FM recording, in my humble opinion. Hope you think so too.

This is the show where Morrissey’s infamous comment “I hope the pressure of having to stand on your own two feet isn’t too difficult” originated. Hardly a comment that endeared him to the crowd, though one punter can clearly be heard proclaiming his love for the Moz right after that statement.

The Smiths were second on a lengthy bill paying tribute to the G-Mex Center’s 10th anniversary. After The Smiths, New Order closed the show. I know that the New Order set has been torrented before on STG, as I downloaded it, but I am not aware of this set being seeded before. If it has, it is from a different source than mine.

This is a transfer from cassette tape. Cassette tape was purchased by me through the back pages of the NME in August, 1986.

This is my last FM recording of this band to share. I have a couple of dodgy audience recordings, including one of the only Smiths show that I was witness to myself - at GWU University in Washington DC. Need to do some speed correction on it before it is torrentable, though. So the vault is looking pretty barren - please share if you can. Greed is not good.

Hope you enjoy the show. Would appreciate any comments you have to give.

douglas

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The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. Their lineup comprised singer Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, the Smiths’ focus on a guitar, bass and drum sound, and fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk, were a rejection of the synth-pop sound that was predominant at the time. Internal tensions led to their breakup in 1987, followed by lawsuits over royalties; the band have refused offers to reunite. - wikipedia

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Lineage:
FM > ? > Sony CF90 > CDWav > Cool Edit Pro 2.0 > EAC > flac [level 8]

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

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Track 01. Intro/The March of the Capulets 1:52
Track 02. Bigmouth Strikes Again 3:37
Track 03. Panic 2:56
Track 04. Vicar In A Tutu 2:51
Track 05. Frankly, Mr Shankly 2:19
Track 06. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 3:40
Track 07. Ask 3:10
Track 08. I Want The One I Can’t Have 3:26
Track 09. Cemetry Gates 2:32
Track 10. Shakespeare’s Sister 2:23
Track 11. Stretch Out And Wait 2:54
Track 12. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore 4:53
Track 13. The Queen Is Dead 4:51
Track 14. I Know It’s Over 7:23
Track 15. Hand In Glove 3:14
52 mins

Lineup:
Morrissey - vocals
Johnny Marr guitar
Andy Rourke - bass
Mike Joyce - drums

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